2014
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| Diana |
We are excited to have Mada with us, as she is "Miss Hockey". She is an enthusiastic hockey player who would love it if we simply played hockey every time we meet. The challenge is to have a good time but not get hit too hard, either by the hockey puck, ball, or by someones fast moving hockey stick. Elder Yeoman is here from Brixen on a split and Elder Gochnour is in Brixen and missed this activity.
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| From Left: Elder Smith, Mada, Elder Yeoman, Friend, Elder Pingel, Diana, Rahim, Elder Holm, Thomas |
January 2014: Our Missionaries (22 Jan.). It's nice to remember our missionaries and we'll include pictures of them occasionally in this blog so we can see their faces and recall memories of the good times we had with them. The picture below is the Innsbruck District missionaries taken in the Innsbruck chapel This picture was taken when the Mission President (President Miles) and his wife were in Innsbruck for missionary interviews.
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| 22 January 2014: By companions, left to right: Elder and Sister Bolt (Brixen), Elders Holm and Gochnour (Innsbruck), Elders Yeoman (center back) and Bellersen (right center) (Brixen), Sisters Kervinen and Schönherr (Brixen), Elders Smith and Pingel (Telfs), President and Sister Miles (sitting, left), Sister and Elder Mower (sitting, right) |
January: Institute with our Friends (23 Jan.). This was an interesting evening with many friends of the church in attendance at our "Essen" and Institute. Rahim brought a friend from Persia, plus there were a couple of other friends from other countries. Sister Mower captured Elder Mower teaching the class using the HDTV in the church.
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| Institute "Essen" and Class by Elder Mower |
January: Branch Conference - New Branch Presidency (26 Jan). President Roth and his family are moving to Salzburg. We'll surely miss them. So, on the same day as the Branch Conference, the former branch presidency was released: President Roth, Elder Mower, and Brother Hirzinger. The new Branch Presidency is: Branch President-Robert Egger,Victor Duarte-first counselor and Hans Pramstaller-second counselor. We all support the new branch presidency and wish them well. (Elder Mower was later called as the "Gemeinde Secretär" (Branch Secretary). Now that really means: finance clerk, membership clerk, executive secretary, and anything else the Branch Presidency needs.
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| 26 January - New Branch Presidency in the Innsbruck Branch |
Branch conference is a great time to have a "Gemeinde Essen" (branch pot luck lunch). A picture of the majority of those that are active in the branch is shown below including the stake visitors who participated in the conference. This includes the part of the Brixen group that attended branch conference.
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| 26 January 2014: Branch picture taken after the Branch Conference |
January 2014: FHE and Hockey (27 Jan.). Yes, we play hockey! Shown below is the hockey team for today. This includes Vicky. Vicky has been busy searching for work and can't come that often anymore, but we're so glad she could come and join us tonight. (Vanessa is in the kitchen with Sister Mower.)
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| 27 Jan. 2014: Hockey Players: Elder Holm, Rodrigo, Elder Gochnour, Diana, Victor, Mada, Vicky |
February 2014: CES Devotional (9 Feb). We decided to have our CES devotional at the church and invite the "Junge Männer" (Young Men) and "Junge Damen" (Young Women) to join, plus anyone else that wanted to stay around, participate in the meal, and watch the devotional. Of course, we need both German and English so "most" of those attending can understand.
Sister Mower prepared baguette sandwiches, chips and salads and we ate in the Relief Society Room which joins the kitchen by way of a half-door shown in the upper-left picture below. We had the young adults bring desserts, also.
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| 9 Feb 2014: CES Broadcast - group lunch before the devotional |
March: Rahim with his Suit (16 March). Rahim now has two nice suits and an assortment of ties, so we took a picture of him today (Sunday) following the meetings. His favorite picture place was by the tree in front of the church. The weather is getting better and many of the trees are are starting to blossom. He looks great in his suit!March: FHE and Birthday Celebration for Vanessa (17 March). We're so happy to have Rodrigo and Vanessa join us at our activities. We heard that it was Vanessa's birthday - so, SURPRISE! Sister Mower made a cake and we had a fun birthday party for Vanessa as part of our FHE.
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| Vanessa blowing out the candles with Diana holding the cake. |
Elder and Sister Mower are leaving on Tuesday, 18 March for Switzerland to attend a Senior Missionary Conference in Zollikoffen. Elder and Sister Didenhover shown in the picture below are in Innsbruck to join Elder and Sister Mower on the trip. They traveled from Linz on the train this afternoon.
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| From Left: Sister Mower, Tamas, Victor, Diana, Rodrigo, Elder Gochnour, Elder and Sister Didenhover, Vanessa, Rahim, Elder Holm |
March 2014: Helping Hands Project (29 Mar). What an experience to participate in a Helping Hands project here in Innsbruck! At 8:00am on Saturday, 29 March, we met into Innsbruck, along with some other helpful citizens, to help clean the river banks in Innsbruck. The Mormon Helping Hands group consisted of 22 members and friends of the Innsbruck branch. We put on the Helping Hands vests and went to our assigned cleanup place along the banks of the Sill River. This river flows through Innsbruck and joins the much larger Inn River. We worked for four hours picking up many bags of garbage including metal poles, discarded chairs, an iron, paper, cans, and thousands of cigarette butts. Some observers thanked us for our service, while one man said that what we were doing wouldn't do any good. He said that it would be that bad again in a couple of days. We hope our work lasts longer than two days!! Following the work time, we went to the an old-folks home where the city provided us lunch. It was delicious and included German potato salad and Wiener-schnitzel. They also gave us our choice of soft drinks and apple strudel. We had previously arranged for the Helping Hands vests to be brought to us from Munich at the Senior Conference in Zollikofen. The pictures below are mostly from the YA participants including Rodrigo and Vanessa who are here from Brazil. Amanda also participated but came late and didn't get in the pictures.
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| 29 March 2014: Helping Hands Project pictures |
April 2014: FHE - Count your blessings. Diana organized a great FHE for tonight - a great lesson on Spring General Conference and some of the things each of us learned and are thankful for. We each wrote some of the items we're thankful for on a large piece of paper (see picture below) and put it up on the bulletin board. We then went outside and played Ultimate Frisbee - and yes, Elder Mower played as well.
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| Playing Ultimate Frisbee in back of the church - list of some of our blessings. |
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| Left picture, from left: Elder Holm, Elder Gochnour, Diana, Rahim Julian, Victor, Mada, Lulia, Sister Mower |
April 2014: Our Innsbruck District Missionaries (8 April). Some of the missionary faces shown below have changed since the last group picture. It's interview time again and we welcome President and Sister Miles here in Innsbruck. Elder Glück (back, third from left) is now with Elder Bellersen in Brixen. Elder Sharp (back right) is now with Elder Pingel in Telfs, and Sister Lohmann (front, second from right) is now with Sister Kervinen in Brixen. Elders Gochnour and Holm remain in Innsbruck, and Elder and Sister Mower remain, of course.
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| 8 April 2014: Innsbruck Missionaries with President and Sister Miles in front of the Innsbruck chapel. |
Spotlight on Diana: “If anyone
wants to be friends with me, they have to be friends with the church, too.“ I live my life by this motto and I always have.
The Gospel has always been the most important thing in my life. The first time
the missionaries came to our house was shortly before I turned twelve. Little did
I know then, but those two unique young men would change my life forever. My father had been investigating the Jehovah
Witness (JW) church for five years. It
was during the same week that he met the missionaries on the street, that he had
decided to join the JW church. After
learning more about the restored gospel from the missionaries, he got baptized
into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints three weeks later. He knew
that the message was true because he read the Book of Mormon, and so
did I. My father baptized me and my older brother, Roberto, almost three months
later on the 23th of September 2000.
A few
years after that, my parents divorced, my mom remarried, and my mom moved to
Austria with her new husband. My older brother went off to college and
became inactive. Likewise, my younger brother moved to Austria and also became
inactive.
While growing
up in Romania, it wasn’t very popular to be different - to be a Mormon. Yet, the fact that I was always proud of who
I was and stood up for what I believed in, influenced people to respect
me. In high school, a few of my friends
started to come to church with me and finally three of them got baptized. Throughout high school, the missionaries who
served in my little town, Deva, became my best friends, also. They would always
take me with as a joint teach, and being so close to them has helped me become
who I am today. All of my friends were, at some point, taught by the
missionaries. I loved to share the Gospel with everyone, because the Gospel was
a part of me and brought so much joy in my daily life.
During my
senior year of high school, my mom’s husband’s had a heart attack and passed
away. That was one of the hardest times in my mom’s life. That year, after I
graduated from high school, I moved to Austria to be with her and to help
her overcome depression. Even though my mom lived one hour away from Innsbruck
where the church was, I still went to church every week. She also started
coming with me and, after a few months, got baptized too. Moving to Austria was
a big change, but I am so grateful for that decision, because all the experiences
and people I got to know here changed my life forever. I spent two years learning the German language
and working, and when I turned 21, I was on my way to MTC to serve a mission. I
was called to the Hamburg, Germany mission. In July 2010 the Hamburg mission was dissolved and I ended up in the Frankfurt Germany Mission. My mission
means everything to me. It has changed my life forever. It was the hardest
thing I’ve ever done, yet the best thing I’ve ever experienced. I love my
mission with all my heart.
Life is
hard, yet it is awesome. Actually life without the Spirit is miserable, but
life with the Spirit is awesome. Jesus Christ means everything to me and his atonement
is the thing that gives me hope every day.
It’s the “tool” to overcome my flaws.
This is a
short story of a girl. This is my story in a nutshell. I am Diana.
And I am a Mormon.
April 2014: CES Devotional (13 April). Time for another CES Devotional. This time the devotional speaker was Sister Linda K. Burton of the General Relief Society Presidency. We decided to gather in the church and invite the "Jugendliche" (12-18 age group) as well as the young adults, plus anyone else who decided to stay around. We had the German-speaking group in the chapel and used the projector and Elder Mower's iPad. In the Young Women's room, we had Sister Mower's iPad and the HDTV and viewed the devotional in English. Before the devotional we had a meal (baked potato bar) prepared and organized by Sister Mower. We ate in the cultural hall (see picture below). We had some surprise good Samaritan's in the branch who cleaned up the dishes for us while we were listening to the broadcast - what a pleasant surprise!
This was Easter break, so some were out of town. Jeniffer (lives in St. Johann) was able to attend, as were Rodrigo and Vanessa who are now living with Victor and Karin while they wait for Rodrigo's visa paperwork to be processed.
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| 13 April 2014: CES Broadcast Lunch |
April 2014: Family Home Evening - Hockey (14 April). This evening for FHE we met, as usual, in the church, had a spiritual thought by Elder Gochnour, and a treat from Sister Mower. Jeniffer was able to come from St. Johann. Afterwards - Hockey!
A small "Wunder" (miracle) occurred today with Elder Gochnour and Elder Holm. After completing their P-Day activities, they had had a little time and wanted to do something constructive. They did not know what to do. Then, they both felt they should get on the Strassenbahn and head into town. They then felt impressed to get off the train at Furstenweg. After they stepped off the train, who should they see, but Rodrigo! Rodrigo was in need of help right then to find an address so he could look at an apartment for him and Vanessa. The elders were able to help out and were there at just the right time time and at the right place. Coincidence? We think not.
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| Hockey Teams: from Left: Elder Gochnour, Diana, Mada, Karin, Jeniffer (back), Victor, Rahim, Friend, Elder Holm |
May 2014: Family Home Evening (5 May). It's FHE night again. This was a great FHE, with the Telf's Elder's giving the GG ("Geistiger Gedanke" - or spirtual thought), followed by eating and hockey. Simone and Jeniffer were here from St. Johann in Tirol (Simone drove). Mada and Rahim are here from Innsbruck. Diana could not come tonight because she was sick.
Sister Mower baked a cake, and Jeniffer surprised us by making two large strawberry shortcakes and spaghetti! What a wonderful surprise! Jeniffer and Simone walked up to the castle together in the afternoon. Simone worked a little in the "library", as she is now the branch librarian. Sister Mower loved working in the kitchen with Jeniffer (see picture below). This is the last time you'll see pictures of Elder Holm and Elder Pingel, as they are being transferred to Wien this coming Thursday. We'll miss them greatly. Rahim will especially miss Elder Holm, since Elder Holm (along with Elder Gochnour, Elder Mower, Sister Mower, and Sister Mead), taught Rahim over the past months.
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| Hockey Spielen! from Left: Elder Gochnour, Mada, Jeniffer, Elder Sharp, Elder Holm, Rahim, Elder Pingel, Simone |
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| FHE Group - 5 May 2014 |
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| 7 May 2014: Last Skype teaching session with Elder Holm. from Left: Sister Mower, Elder Pingel, (front) Elder Gochnour, Rahim, Elder Holm, Sister Mead |
May 2014: "Essen" and Institute Night with the New Elders (8 May.). It's time again for two of our wonderful Elders to depart Innsbruck and Telfs, and for their replacements to arrive. Elder Holm (Innsbruck) and Elder Pingel (Telfs) both departed for Wien (Vienna). We all remember when they first arrived here in Innsbruck approximately five months ago, right from the MTC in Preston, England. Both Elder Holm and Elder Pingel spend their first evening at Institute when they first arrived, just like Elder Morrill and Elder Werner did tonight. Elder Gochnour will now be working with Elder Morrill (18 months on his mission) in Innsbruck, and Elder Sharp will be the companion to Elder Werner in Telfs. Elder Werner just arrived here from the MTC in Preston, England. After Institute, Elder and Sister Mower drove them to Telfs in the mission car. We were fortunate that Julian had his car and could take one of Elder Werner's suitcases with him. It would not fit in our car.
Sister Mower, as always, prepared a nice meal (cheese and pasta in a pot). We had a total of 18 in attendance (with Vanessa who came later due to work conflicts) including the six missionaries. Julian brought two friends with him. Caique is a friend of Victor's from Brazil and is here for a couple of weeks for a visit. Victor, Karin, Klaus, and Amanda have been in Brazil for a couple of weeks for Erika's wedding. Victor and Karin came home on Monday (5 May) and were able to attend Institute tonight, along with Caique. We're happy to have them back! Karin doesn't work the late shift this week, so she could come. We love it when so many can participate.
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| 8 May 2014 - Group Picture at Institute From left: Sister Mower, Caique, Friend, Victor, Friend, Karin, Julian, Jeniffer, Elder Gochnour, Rodrigo, Elder Sharp, Diana, Rahim, Mada, Elder Werner, Elder Morrill |
This afternoon before Institute, Rahim received instruction on mowing the church lawn. This is Rahim's hobby. This is a great experience for Rahim to help keep him occupied doing constructive work. The lawn is growing fast, aided by ample rain during the past few days.
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| Rahim with Brother Pramstaller at the back of the church |
May 2014: Family Home Evening - Budget Management by Sister Mower (12 May.). Sister Mower has been preparing for the Budget Management FHE for several weeks. She prepared a presentation using PowerPoint. It was her first time using this program and she did a great job. The topic of Budget Management will be presented for a period of three weeks, starting today. We had a great turnout and good participation. We were happy to see Lucy! She's back home for a few days, then back to Wien this coming weekend. Then it's hockey!
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| 12 May 2014 - Budgeting FHE by Sister Mower |
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| From Left: Mada, Rodrigo, Amanda with Loren, Lucy, Diana, Rahim, Klaus, Victor, Caique (friend of Victor's) |
May 2014: Institute and Elder Gochnour's Birthday (15 May.). Well, Elder Gochour is 21 years old today. We celebrated his birthday with a birthday cake that Sister Mower baked. We had the cake after the "Essen", also prepared by Sister Mower. Afterwards we had Institute by Elder Mower on Alma 12, including a discussion about the resurrection and the tree of life in the Garden of Eden. Then it was dishes followed by hockey. Rodrigo and Vanessa were expected to move into their new apartment this weekend before Erika and Samuel arrive from Brazil on Monday, 19 May, but this didn't materialize, so they will continue to live with Victor and Karin.
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| Top Picture from Left: Mada, Jeniffer, Elder Morrill, Sister Mower, Klaus, Elder Gochnour, Caique, Diana, Vicky, Rahim, Rodrigo, Elder Mower, Victor (taking picture) |
May 2014: Institute and Sister Mower's Birthday (29 May.). It's Institute night once again. After a very nice meal prepared by Sister Mower, we had our Institute class by Elder Mower. It was a wonderful evening with good attendance. Then, to the surprise of many (including Elder and Sister Mower), there was a surprise birthday celebration for Sister Mower. (Her birthday is 28 May.) Sister Mower was escorted down the hall to the Young Women's room where there was a birthday cake and other goodies for everyone. Thanks to all who helped make this a special day for Sister Mower. She appreciates everyone's support and loves each of you very, very much. And, Sister Mower's special thanks to Diana and also to Rodrigo and Vanessa for the beautiful flowers (see pictures below).
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| 29 May: Birthday celebration after Institute |
June 2014: FHE Activity - Rodrigo's Birthday Celebration (2 June). Yes, we like to celebrate birthdays, as each and every one is important and, after all, we are all brothers and sisters in the gospel. We were quite sure Rodrigo was going to attend FHE, so we prepared a "surprise" birthday party. We started our activities without Rodrigo, hoping that he would come. After all, what fun is it to celebrate a birthday when the 'birthday man" isn't here? Well, to our relief, Rodrigo came (picture below - lower right) and we snapped his picture. Yes, we had fun and a cake prepared by Sister Mower and played a little hockey.
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| 2 June: Rodrigo's Birthday Celebration |
June 2014: FHE Activity at "Reutz-Backhaus in Kematen" (9 June). June 9 is another holiday here in Austria and there is no school and many don't have to go to work. Diana had the great idea to go to Reutz-Backhaus in Kematen for a small late breakfast. Diana, Victor, Karin, and the Innsbruck Elders (Gochnour and Morrill) met at the Innsbruck train station and took to the train the short distance to Kematen. Thomas, Julian, Robert (friend) and Elder and Sister Mower met them at the Backhaus. We had some goodies to eat and Julian collected activity suggestions from those who were present.
Although Jeniffer had to work in the morning and couldn't attend, she organized the group to play hockey at the church later that afternoon.
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| 9 June - "Imbiss" at KIematen |
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| 16 June - Volleyball |
June 2014: Brazilian BBQ (17 June). We had a Brazilian BBQ organized by, of course, the Brazilians in the branch. While this was a "branch" activity, pictures of the JE's are included here. After the BBQ, the World Cup soccer game with Brazil, as one of the teams, was shown on the back stage wall.
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| Brazilian BBQ with the group, Victor, Samuel, Rodrigo, Elder and Sister Mower with Shirlyn and Dan |
Elder and Sister Mower had their daughter (Shirlyn), and her husband (Dan) with them (lower-right picture above). What a nice experience to come and enjoy a nice BBQ with our friends. The BBQ was served in Brazilian fashion, with Rodrigo and others coming around occasionally to ask if we needed more meat from the BBQ.
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| Brazilian BBQ with Thomas, Diana, Rodrigo (center), Vanessa, and Rahim |
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| Brazilian BBQ: Sister Mower with Rodrigo holding Loren, Elders Morrill and Werner, Diana, Vicky, Jeniffer, and Rahim |
Spotlight on Jeniffer: My childhood in Brazil was very good and I
have a very nice family there. My grandmother, grandpa, and my mom raised
me. I don't have any siblings.
I was born on 29 June in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I loved to learn English and I was very good at it ever since I
was a little girl. One day my teacher
told me about these Americans that were teaching English for free in this
church and that I should go there. I
went there with my mother and my aunt. We
had a lot of fun learning English with the missionaries. After class, they told us that if we wanted to learn
about the Book of Mormon we could stay, so we stayed.
Elder Pope and Elder Chamberlain were very nice, and they
wanted to give us the Book of Mormon. But, at first, we didn't wanted one. So, they asked if they could visit us at our
home.
It took me a while to understand what all of that was about,
but once I did, I felt really happy and felt this peace inside of me that I had
never felt before in any other church.
I was baptized on 25 December 1999, and I will never regret
my decision. It was the best thing that
could ever happen to me. I'm so blessed
to be a member of the church and to be able to learn so much.
I didn't attend church for a few years, but then I got
active again (2014), after my divorce. I
also have two daughters and they love going to church and learning about the
gospel. I can see how the church makes a difference in my life and in my
daughters’ lives. I understand how
important missionary work is. I'm happy and very blessed. Jeniffer
(currently living in St. Johann im Tirol)
June 2014: FHE Activity with Gochnour's and Lindsay's (23 June). We're all sad to see Elder Gochnour end his mission and go back home for the next stage in his life. Elder Gochnour's family came over to pick him and his brother up from their Missions. Yes, the brothers are twins and both served in German-speaking missions. The Young Adults, the Gochnour family (with two Elder Gochnours) met at the church joined by the Lindsay family from our branch We had a good time with a spiritual thought, food, and some hockey! A group picture is shown below. (Notice the two Elder Gochnour's - identical twins?)
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| 23 June - Hockey with the Gochnours and Lindsays |
June 2014: Current Missionaries in the Innsbruck District (24 June). Our missionaries come and go and it's difficult to keep track of which missionaries are here or in Brixen. Here's a picture of the Innsbruck District taken on 24 June in Brixen.
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| 24 June: from Left: Sisters Siebert and Siems (Brixen), Elder and Sister Mower (Innsbruck), Elders Morrill and Ward (Innsbruck) , Elders Glück and Georgiev (Brixen) , Elders Sharp and Werner (Telfs) |
July 2014: 2013/2014 Institute Year Closing Ceremony (13 July). The 2013/2014 institute year has come to a close. The subject for this past year was the Book of Mormon. We'll continue the Summer with the Book of Mormon, as we're now at Alma 32 and have much more to cover. We were happy to have President Mielacher (Salzburg Stake President) come join us for a short closing ceremony and to present certificates to those who attended institute this past year. We met on Sunday after the church block. Elder Mower gave some opening comments, followed by President Mielacher. Then, the certificates were presented (see pictures below). We enjoyed Sprite ice-cream floats afterwards.
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| 13 July: top-bottom, left-right: Vanessa, Rodrigo, Julian, Mada, Karin, Victor, Rahim, Jeniffer, Vicky |
Diana, Thomas, Klaus, Amanda, Samuel, and Erika couldn't be with us on Sunday, so we presented their certificates on the following Thursday, the first day of Summer institute. The pictures are below. (Erika and Amanda not present.) Congratulations to Diana who graduated from Institute (four years)!! This is a significant accomplishment that takes much dedication over many years. 75% attendance at Institute is required each semester to receive credit. Two credits are given for each semester during the normal school year. One credit is available for Summer institute.
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| Top Left-right: Thomas, Diana, Samuel; Bottom: Klaus |
Spotlight on Klaus and Amanda: Hello my name is Klaus and I am married
to the most amazing person in the
world. Her name is Amanda. I had the privilege of being born in a family that was already a member of The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints. The family
of Amanda met
the gospel and were soon baptized when she was 8
years old.
Amanda and I worked together, but I did not know she was member of the church. She also did not know I was member of the church. We began to flirt after we saw each other at Institute and found that we were both members of the Church. In the same month we started dating. We got married a year and a month later in the Temple of São Paulo on 3 December 2011. This was a perfect and blessed day.
We were preparing to move to the US, but after the journey of my mother to Germany, we began researching the possibility of moving to Germany or even to Austria. Because I have German citizenship, we saw that it was easier to go to Europe to live and study than to the US, so we decided to move to Austria and start a new life there. We traveled five months after our wedding, and Amanda was almost four months pregnant. It was a drastic change and we had to exercise our faith and trust in the Lord.
The beginning was not easy. New culture, language and little money. The Lord protected us and guided us with his loving hand all the time. He protected our daughter with good health. We could not go to the doctor for lack of health insurance and money.
As soon as we arrived in Innsbruck, I got a job and we found a great apartment. Blessings and more blessings fell from the sky as promised by the Lord. Our Loren was born big and healthy bringing more light to our little family. We met many amazing people who welcomed us and helped us.
Now we are two and half years in Innsbruck. We have been married three years. We love living here. Our extended family grew, because my family in Brazil also live here now. We are working and studying hard. We do not plan move back and would like to bring more friends and family to live here, if possible.
We love the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and how much peace and joy we feel when we live it. No matter how difficult or how much of a sacrifice our current situation requires, the Lord will always be at our side guiding us and lighting the way we must follow as we live His gospel.
With love Amanda, Klaus and Loren.
Amanda and I worked together, but I did not know she was member of the church. She also did not know I was member of the church. We began to flirt after we saw each other at Institute and found that we were both members of the Church. In the same month we started dating. We got married a year and a month later in the Temple of São Paulo on 3 December 2011. This was a perfect and blessed day.
We were preparing to move to the US, but after the journey of my mother to Germany, we began researching the possibility of moving to Germany or even to Austria. Because I have German citizenship, we saw that it was easier to go to Europe to live and study than to the US, so we decided to move to Austria and start a new life there. We traveled five months after our wedding, and Amanda was almost four months pregnant. It was a drastic change and we had to exercise our faith and trust in the Lord.
The beginning was not easy. New culture, language and little money. The Lord protected us and guided us with his loving hand all the time. He protected our daughter with good health. We could not go to the doctor for lack of health insurance and money.
As soon as we arrived in Innsbruck, I got a job and we found a great apartment. Blessings and more blessings fell from the sky as promised by the Lord. Our Loren was born big and healthy bringing more light to our little family. We met many amazing people who welcomed us and helped us.
Now we are two and half years in Innsbruck. We have been married three years. We love living here. Our extended family grew, because my family in Brazil also live here now. We are working and studying hard. We do not plan move back and would like to bring more friends and family to live here, if possible.
We love the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and how much peace and joy we feel when we live it. No matter how difficult or how much of a sacrifice our current situation requires, the Lord will always be at our side guiding us and lighting the way we must follow as we live His gospel.
With love Amanda, Klaus and Loren.
July 2014: Indexing on Worldwide Indexing Day (21 July). We received word from Elder and Sister Foote who are the senior missionaries assigned to the "JAE" in Europe, that a special event was scheduled. They informed us about the Worldwide Indexing Day that was to be held on 21 July. So, to prepare for this event, Julian arranged to teach us about indexing during FHE the week prior, 14 July. We met at the church with our laptop computers and made sure everyone had the indexing software downloaded. Julian instructed us on the use of the program and we then practiced reading different writing styles. We could pick the writing style for our language. We then practiced (or attempted) writing a little in that script. This wasn't all that easy and will take practice to learn to read the handwriting on the various indexing files.
The next week we met and were mostly prepared to begin indexing. We selected a file on each computer and began our indexing adventure. In total, we completed five indexing batches, approximately 200 names. These batches were submitted electronically. In attendance: Julian; Mada; Victor; Elders Morrill, Ward, Sharp, Werner; Elder and Sister Mower; Rodrigo and Vanessa; Lulia; Diana; and Rahim. This was a very successful activity.
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| Schloss Ambras |
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| Left-right: Mada, Elder Werner, Jeniffer, Elder Morrill, Elder Sharp, Diana, Elder Ward, Rodrigo, Rahim |
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| Playing Ultimate Frisbee |
We were pleased to have Elder Morrill bring his guitar and sing a few songs to the group. Would you believe that Mada actually said she liked playing ultimate Frisbee better than hockey? Yes, we all had fun and will plan on doing this again later this summer, weather permitting.
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| Left-right, top-bottom: Rahim with Elder Mower, Mada with Jeniffer, Elder Morrill with guitar, Rodrigo-Mada-Diana-Jeniffer, Rodrigo, Sister Mower |
August 2014: Institute and Mada's Birthday Celebration (7 Aug). August has arrived and it's time for Institute. We will continue our study of the Book of Mormon. We started tonight with a special German lesson for Rodrigo. He needed to understand the meaning of "der Verband" (bandage) and "das Pflaster" (band-aid). Rodrigo has had more than his share of scrapes and cuts on his legs the past few months and is in need of some more band-aides, so Elder Mower gave him a gift of a package of band-aids and taught him some useful German words. We all enjoyed the laugh. What fun!
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| Rodrigo receives his "Pflaster" gift. |
We also celebrated Mada's birthday. Sister Mower had made a cake for this special event and we all sang "Happy Birthday" to Mada. Afterwards we had Institute by Elder Mower.
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| We celebrate Mada's birthday with a cake baked by Sister Mower |
August 2014: Squash (11 Aug.). Julian arranged for us to play Squash at Speedfit in the city not far from where Victor and Karin live (see the invitation to the left). Julian is a member at Speedfit and arranged for our group to come and rent a squash court for 1-1/2 hours. This was a great event and we all got a little needed exercise (especially Elder Mower).
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Upper left: Elder Dickson and Elder Ward; Upper-right: our group (except Elder Mower);
Bottom-left: Amanda and Klaus with Loren; Bottom-center: Elder Werner, Sister Mower;
Bottom-right: Elder Morrill, Victor, Thomas |
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| Our Athletes (except the Elders) |
August 2014: Branch BBQ at the Church (Saturday, 23 Aug.). We had a very nice BBQ at the church on Saturday afternoon/evening. This event was originally suggested by Victor and approved by the rest of the branch presidency. Thomas helped Victor with the planning and assignments. This event included a BBQ and dancing in the cultural hall. We were pleased to have great music that was provided by a friend of the church from Italy who the missionaries have been teaching. While this wasn't just a YA event, we'll include pictures of the YAs here because many of the YA's were there and we had FUN!
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| Fun at the church featuring: Elder Mower, Rahim, Elder Dickson, Elder Ward, Jeniffer, Mada, Rodrigo, Sister Mower, Vanessa, Klaus, and Victor |
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| More fun featuring: Thomas, Jeniffer, friend from Italy who provided the music, Klaus and Amanda with Loren, Elder Thomas (Brixen), Elder Morrill, friend from Africa, Elder Ward, Elder Dickson, Samuel, Erika, Sister Mower, Vanessa. |
August 2014: We Lean about Signal Modulation from Elder Mower (18 Aug.). Elder Mower was an electrical engineer and designed radio communication systems during his career. So, why not spend an evening talking about the basics of radio signal modulation during a FHE Workshop? Those in attendance were able to use an FM radio and learn about amplitude modulation (AM) and frequency modulation (FM). Some of the examples used by Elder Mower during the class are shown below.
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| AM and FM Modulation Examples |
August 2014: Samuel's Birthday Celebration (25 Aug.). We celebrated Samuel's birthday during FHE tonight (Monday). We love birthdays and are thrilled that Samuel and Erika are with us. Their German is improving daily and soon they will be speaking German with the rest of us. Happy birthday Samuel!
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| We celebrated Samuel's birthday during FHE. |
September 2014: Portuguese language lessons and Marshmallow BBQ (1 Sep, 8 Sep): Brother Jäsche (senior) taught us some Portuguese on 1 Sep. Then on the following Monday, 8 Sep., Rodrigo was our instructor. We all thought learning a little Portuguese would be helpful since so many of the young adults speak Portuguese. On both evenings Sister Mower gave the spiritual thoughts. How grateful we are for Sister Mower who prepares such nice thoughts for us!
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| We learn Portuguese! |
On Monday, 8 September after our class by Rodrigo we had a special Marshmallow roast that was organized by Victor. Elder Mower got the charcoal started early (about 6:30pm) so the fire was nice and hot when we started roasting marshmallows at about 8:20pm. It had been raining off-and-on during the day, but it stopped raining for the marshmallow roashing! This summer (was there a summer?) has been quite cool with much rain, so we're lucky to be able to go outside and not get wet, although the grass was wet. Victor arrived as fast as he could after his work and brought the food. Many of the group made S'mores with their marshmallows and chocolate frosted cookies. We finished the fun at about 9:15pm. About 9:00pm there was still a little time for hockey for those who wanted to stay. Often, some of the group stays to play hockey. We love hockey in Innsbruck. What a great evening!
The reader may wonder, "Where is Diana?" Well, she is still in America where she has had many great experiences. We follow her on Facebook, but miss her here. We'll be glad to have her back with us in October after General Conference.
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| Marshmallow BBQ after our language class |
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| We play hockey after the Marshmallow BBQ! |
Other news: We are pleased to report that Rodrigo and Vanessa moved into their own apartment on 1 September. They have been living out of their backpacks (all that they brought with them) and have been sleeping on the couch at Victor and Karin's for quite some time now. This is a significant milestone for Rodrigo and Vanessa. Also, Victor and Karin can now have more more space in their apartment. Elder Mower continues to teach Rodrigo and Vanessa (when she doesn't work) German twice per week. They are both progressing rapidly on their German language skills and we're so proud of them.
Also, Samuel has completed all of the steps required to remain in Austria. This is a significant event for Erika and Samuel. They moved into their own apartment on 2 September. Samuel can now find a job. They both continue to learn German on their own and also from Elder Mower twice each week.
Spotlight on Lisa: Hello,
my name is Lisa and I was born in Tyrol. I grew up here in Innsbruck and had a
great childhood. When I was four, my brother Jona was born and two years later Lea.
One year later my mom recieved a breast cancer diagnosis and our family life changed
a lot.
As my
mom had medical treatment, part of it being chemotherapy, she mostly spent her
days in bed or at the hospital. Luckily, the members of our ward were a big
help in that time. My grandmother moved to Innsbruck to be able to help my dad
with the household and us kids.
However,
my mom died about two years after her diagnosis. It was an immensely difficult
time for our entire family, but thanks to our friends we didn't feel completely
lost.
A few
years after our loss, my dad met Karin, a young, single mother. They fell in
love and got married. Her daughter's name is Taylor.
After
my dad adopted her a few years later, our family felt complete again.
I
spent some of my teenage years in Klagenfurt, the town where my mother grew up.
I used to live there with my grandparents and our relationship is very strong
ever since. There I finished high school. Recently, I moved back to Innsbruck
to become a preschool teacher. Lisa (lives in Axams)
September 2014: Institute and Karin's Birthday Celebration (4 Sep): Today was the last day of Summer Institute and we also celebrated Karin's birthday. Of course, we took a picture of the group around the dinner table. As always, Sister Mower baked a cake for the birthday event. Happy birthday, Karin! (Note: Karin will have been in Innsbruck for two years tomorrow. We are so glad you and Victor decided to stay!)
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| Institute evening with a birthday celebration for Karin. |
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| Rodrigo and Vanessa along with Elder and Sister Mower |
Spotlight on Rodrigo and Vanessa: We met each other six years ago on the very first day of our
graduation course at the university in Brazil. We have very different
backgrounds but lots of things in common and one of them is to live abroad, one
day, after we got married.
We got married last year (2013) and then we traveled around Europe
intending to return to Brazil. A phone call from Victor, our cousin, demanding us
to visit him in Austria, since we were in Europe, just changed our lives. We accepted
his invitation and came to Innsbruck. What we found here was something that
we thought only existed in movies. The place, the mountains, and especially
the people that we met in the church made us take a crazy, but responsible,
decision of leaving our lives in Brazil behind to stay and start a brand new
one in Innsbruck.
During this nine months, that we are here, we have enjoyed and learned
so much and one of the best things that ever happened in our lives was to meet
a missionary couple called Elder and Sister Mower. They have been a strong
pillar in our new life in Innsbruck, all the patience and time spent on us gave
us all the support and skills we needed to dive into this adventure, also what
we have been learning about the scriptures with them and that has been unbelievable!
We think this is just the beginning of a great history that
is yet to come!
Rodrigo and Vanessa (living in Innsbruck)
October 2014: VIPA and the Austrian Pension System Workshop (20 Oct): Sister and Elder Mower have planned, along with Julian and Lisa (the former and present YA leaders, respectively), to hold a workshop on the Austrian Pension System. Prior to discussing the pension system, Sister Mower discussed the importance of Vision-Information-Planning-Action (VIPA) to those in attendance. (These ideas were taken from a presentation given in September by Gerold Roth to some of the stake young adults at a meeting in his home.) Planning is so important for all of us so that our travel down life's road won't be as bumpy as it could be without a good life plan. During a previous workshop we discussed the importance of having a budget and to have a reserve fund of approximately six months of income. These budget practices also apply to our retirement planning. Elder Mower discussed the Austrian Retirement System using publications from the Austrian Government. This workshop focused on the "Information" part of the VIPA theme, since it is difficult to effectively plan if we don't have good information on the topic. Below is a picture of those in attendance at this workshop. The challenge to all is to save a minimum of 2% of your income towards retirement, since the Government pension is unlikely to be sufficient.
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| Top: Sister Mower teaches; Bottom: Elder and Sister Mower, Thomas, Rodrigo, Elder Halversen, Victor, Elder Morrill, Karin, Diana, Elder Ward, Julian. |
October 2014: Institute (23 Oct): We're in the book of 3 Nephi. Tonight's lesson covered 3 Nephi 12-18 and included details on Christ's visit to the Nephites. President Achim Erlacher from the Stake was in attendance. President Erlacher is the first counselor in the Stake Presidency and is also supervisor of the Institute program in the Vienna and Salzburg stakes. Afterwards, to Elder Mower's surprise, Jeniffer had decorated our little blue mission car with balloons and notes wishing Elder Mower a happy birthday (his birthday is 24 Oct).
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| 23 October after Institute: Elder Mower outside by the mission car - Birthday Surprise! |
Prior to Institute today we had another German class with Erika, Rodrigo, and Vanessa. Below is a picture of Erika taking a German test prepared by Elder Mower - how fun. We call these tests "fun quizzes". Then it is to back to work for Rodrigo, Vanessa, and Erika. Erika came back in time for Institute and the meal. Rodrigo and Vanessa made it after the lesson and had a one-on-one lesson in the kitchen with Elder and Sister Mower - along with eating pizza and salad, tonight's meal. Oh, let's not forget the dessert: cake with fruit topping.
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| Erika taking a German Quiz - Fun! |
Spotlight on Victor and Karin: We
are about to tell a little about how we met and how we ended up living in such
a tiny little town, but full of emotion, like Innsbruck!
By Karin: I, Karin, having been
born of good parents, received instruction during my young age which lead me to
meet Victor during a beautiful winter during an Institute dance party in Sao
Paulo, Brazil.
It
all started on a cold and rainy night. I had left work and went straight to Institute.
When I got there, I was soaked, so I went to get ready in the bathroom.
Brazilians, as usual, talk to everyone everywhere, and there I met a girl who
had just came back from her mission and who was looking to meet new people.
Since she didn't find anyone she knew, and because everyone she knew got
married when she was in the mission field, she asked if I could be her friend. She wanted to introduce someone to the
friends she brought, who also didn't know anyone else. I thought that was funny
and I agreed. That's when she introduced me to Victor and Caique. She told them we were friends since Primary,
and that we hadn't seen each other in years.
It was really funny and they believed her! We talked a little bit and,
after the activity, we met often at other dancing parties. Victor then asked me on our first date.
Our first date was memorable. I called him to tell I would be a “little late” because of the traffic. Well, a "little late" ended up being two hours before I could get to our planned meeting place. I was lucky he was still there and was in a good mood. Right then I thought that he definitely earned some good points with me! It was a really good night, not only because he had the patience to wait for me, but also because it was a really nice and magical night.
Since we met, he knew of my plan to leave my country (Brazil) and move to Austria, but that didn't intimidate him. We continued to meet until we were “official”. Later, on 2 September, he proposed! I still don't know if that was a birthday or a farewell gift, because my birthday was the following day (3 September) and then the following day (4 September) I would be on my way to Europe. Anyway, it was a wonderful, nice surprise, and, of course, I said, yes! I couldn’t let someone that special slip through my fingers. I came to Europe with mixed emotions to meet my brother Klaus and my sister-in-law Amanda, who were living in Innsbruck already and were the first ones from our family to get here.
Months
went by and we (Victor and I) had to decide how and where we would get
married, and also where we would end up living. We had to decide all those
important decisions and details over Skype and e-mail. This was not easy. Then, during December, he
came to Innsbruck to visit me during his work vacation. Victor was able to see
how everything was here in Innsbruck.
This would help us decide if he would also move here, or, if I would go
back to Brazil for good.
By Victor: On 1 December 2012, I, Victor, came to Innsbruck to visit Karin, my fiancé at that time. In other words, I totally blame her for bringing me here. I came with the intent to plan our wedding and to decide if we were going to live here in Innsbruck, or if we would go back to Brazil. I was actually just giving a chance to Karin and then we would probably go back to Brazil, because I really had a good career opportunity in the business I was working in, and I was also really attached to my family and I had really good friends, I never thought I would live so far away from my family.
However, when I got here, I fell in love with this place. I think every Brazilian would have, but what really made me come was the people in the Innsbruck branch who were very welcoming. This really touched my heart. Even with the language barrier, the members treated me really well, and, with few words, they planted the desire for me to come back. My visit here in Innsbruck was only 30 days, and at the end of it I decided to come back and face this new chapter in my and Karin's life. And why? Because really special people made the difference, first of all my wife who gave me support and made me feel safe, Klaus and Amanda, Elder and Sister Stepan, Elder and Sister Erlacher (serving in Brixen, Italy), Regina Föger, Diana, Claudia Gruber, Hans Hirzinger, Lucas Roth, Consuelo Puff and the missionaries of the branch: Elder Wilson, Elder Jones, Elder Orchard and Elder Müller. Every single one of them were able to touch my heart and somehow influenced me to come here. It didn't matter if it was just a simple smile or making the effort to talk to me. They were all so welcoming in the church, like Lukas Roth did, or Sister Consuelo making Tiramisu (the best I've ever had, by the way) and the list goes on. I could just not stop writing about all the loving actions towards me which made me change my mind and decide to move here. Maybe those people don't even remember what they have done for me or how much their attitudes would be so important to me.
I
went back to Brazil and we started working on our wedding which happened on 6 April,
2013, in São Paulo. I don't really have to mention that it was a more-than-special
moment in both of our lives. The hardest
thing was to leave my entire, wonderful family behind. When we got here, we had
another reception with all of our new friends from Innsbruck and Southern
Tirol. It was just beautiful to see so much dedication and love for two people
who these people didn't even know that well. It was such a pleasant and huge
surprise to both of us.
When
I came here, it was like a huge part of me was still in Brazil, but as soon as
I got here I met Konrad and Paula Nagele and that feeling started to change
slowly. They were more than a brother and sister from church. They became part of family to us. We don't
have enough words to describe how big of a heart Konrad has. We have been
through many experiences with them, and we have learned from the purest example
what it is to be an eternal couple who can maintain love above sickness,
hardships, and time.
Talking about time, time has been going by and some of
the people who received us here and made the difference started to leave, like
the missionaries, and the couple missionaries and also some members like Samuel
Puff, who is serving a mission.
However, The Lord knows we always need good, loving
and special people around us: then Elder and Sister Mower came and brought
a new environment which served as an example to us and our family. We learned
and progressed a lot with them around; my cousin and his wife (Rodrigo and
Vanessa) moved to Innsbruck, our missionaries friends come and go, but always
bring us a lot of happiness and give us the strength that our friendship does
not have an expiration date.
And this is a little bit of our story until now. We
would like to share our happiness to be here in Innsbruck. We have a lot more
people to put on our list of angels who have changed our lives and keep doing
so, but then I would need to have the to list all of members in our branch, and
people we know, to put all the names down. Therefore, we can only say
a big THANK YOU!
October 2014: Happy Birthday Surprise for Elder Mower (25 Oct): Rodrigo told us that he had planned an evening on Saturday, 25 October, for those who wanted more help speaking German to come together and practice speaking German with each other. Would we like to attend? We said, "Yes". So we planned for a fun teaching event. Karin came early for some German instruction and, when Elder Mower came through the front door, said "Let's go down to the young women's room for the class, since it is more comfortable there." Elder Mower, of course, said okay. Well, after the class with Karin, we, Karin and Elder Mower, walked down the hall to the Relief Society for the group German class. As Elder Mower opened the door, the room was dark. Then: "Happy Birthday". This was a wonderful surprise! What good food and fun with our friends. It was wonderful and so well organized.
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| Happy Birthday, Elder Mower! |
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| It's Institute night and we celebrated Amanda's birthday |
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| FHE on 3 November with Mada, Diana, Julian, Victor, Erika, Samuel and Elder and Sister Mower |
November 2014: Institute with Elder Morrill and his family (6 Nov): We had a nice surprise tonight. Elder Morrill was released from his mission last week and he and his family are doing a little traveling around Germany and Austria. They planned to spend the night in Innsbruck and came to Institute. Elder Morrill's mom, dad, and sister were in attendance. Afterwards, there was a little time for hockey (see picture below). We all wish Elder Morrill the best as he leaves the full-time missionary work behind and returns home.
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| Hockey following Institute with Elder Morrill and his family |
November 2014: FHE with Rodrigo, the Taekwondo master (10 Nov): Learning a few self defense skills using Taekwondo techniques was the workshop for tonight. Rodrigo (black belt) has been preparing for this event for a couple of weeks and practiced with Victor the week prior to this evening. Vanessa volunteered to complete Rodrigo's cleaning work assignments at the school where they work so Rodrigo could be with us tonight. Thanks Vanessa! (We called Vanessa on the phone and all thanked her while she was at work.)We started this evening with a spiritual thought from Diana. We then went into the church cultural hall and began our warm-up and training. The group picture of those in attendance is shown below. The Innsbruck elders, Elder Halversen and Elder Ward were able to be there for the entire event. Elder Dickson and Elder Gibbs had to leave early to get back to Telfs where they live and aren't in the group picture.
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| Left-right: Elder Ward, Rodrigo, Sister Mower, Victor, Julian, Elder Halversen, Amanda, Diana, Loren (daughter of Amanda and Klaus), Mada, Lisa, Erika, and Klaus (Elder Mower is taking the picture) |
The training was done in several groups and sections. The group picture below shows the kicking techniques that were taught. Mada is wearing a BYU T-shirt that Diana brought back for her from Utah. Rodrigo taught us the importance of listening and obeying the Taekwondo master (that's Rodrigo), and those who don't listen get to do push-ups (Mada and Diana in lower-left picture).
Another of the sections was a self-defense technique where you can grab the arm of your assailant and, with the proper technique, throw them to the ground. Who would have thought that Lisa could easily take Victor down (upper-right below)?
Elder and Sister Mower participated, too, with Sister Mower throwing Victor down, and Elder Mower easily throwing Rodrigo to the floor. (Or, it could have been that Victor and Rodrigo let them do it. What do you think?)
November 2014: Erika gave her first talk in German! (16 Nov). Erika has been practicing her talk all week so she could surprise her parents on Sunday. The scripture reference for this talk was
2 Nephi 31:20. She did a great job and President Egger complimented her on doing such a fine job after being here for only five months. Elder Mower did his best to help her practice the talk during the previous week so she could talk like a real "Tirolerin"! (Do you believe that?). After all, Elder Mower has ancestors that come from Tirol (Steeg in the Innsbruck Branch) back about 1600.
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| Erika's first talk in Innsbruck was today: Left-right: Sister and Elder Mower, Erika, Samuel |
November 2014: Current Missionaries in the Innsbruck District (18 November). We've had a few transfers since we included a group picture of our Innsbruck District missionaries. Elder Badders and Sister Jaursch are relatively new in Brixen. Elder Halversen will be completing his mission during the first week in December.
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| 18 Nov: from Left: Elder and Sister Mower (Innsbruck), Elders Badders (Brixen), Elder Gibbs (Telfs), Elder Halversen (Innsbruck), Elder Georgiev (Brixen) ,Elder Ward (Innsbruck) , Elder Dickson (Innsbruck), Front: Sisters Jaursch and Siems (Brixen) |
November 2014: FHE with Victor (blue belt), Samuel (white belt) and Rodrigo (blue belt) (24 Nov): We continue tonight with additional self defense skills. This time we learned a little Jiujitsu, a Brazilian fighting technique. After a spiritual thought by Sister Mower, we all went to the cultural hall and did a few exercises including stretches and jogging. Then we went back to the RS room where we could do some Jiujitsu training hosted by Victor. Using the carpeting as a little padding. The evening ended with Victor and Rodrigo giving us a tournament-like demonstration. Yes, there was a little blood on the floor, but Sister Mower cleaned it up before the blood dried. You'll note that Elder Mower (upper picture below) was able to take Victor down. Look at Victor squirm!Participants this evening (see center picture below) were Virginia, Sister Mower, Karin, Julian, Rodrigo, Victor, Erika, Samuel, Amanda, Elder Mower, and Klaus. Loren was there also to give Amanda and Klaus, her parents, a little cheer-leading support.
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| Jiujitsu Training at FHE |
November 2014: Thanksgiving and Institute (27 Nov): This year we have Institute and Thanksgiving on the same day. Sister Mower decided to make this Thanksgiving special and prepared a special Thanksgiving dinner consisting of turkey, sweet potatoes, candied yams, garlic mashed potatoes, vegetable tray, stuffing with bacon and apples, gravy, berry-orange relish, and home-made rolls. And don't forget pumpkin pie cake for dessert. This took a lot of work from Sister Mower (and Elder Mower with the dish washing) and we all thank her very, very much. As a note, we looked for cranberries all over Innsbruck with so success, so Sister Mower used mixed berries in the relish instead. After the opening prayer, we talked for a few minutes about the importance of the Thanksgiving tradition in the United States and also about where the tradition came from. We then all shared a moment of gratitude with the group and went around the table for each one to take a turn.
We missed Julian tonight, because he frequently has obligations to play piano at performances in the city and couldn't be here. Virginia went to Italy on the train for the weekend to visit her family and left earlier today. Jeniffer would have come but couldn't get a baby sitter for her two daughters. Our four elders were there, as it would simply not be right for the elders not to enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner. The elders are: Elder Halversen and Elder Ward in Innsbruck. Elder Dickson and Elder Gibbs serving in Telfs. This is Elder Halversen's last Institute with us, as he returns home from his mission next week. Around the table in the upper-right starting from the left: (friend), Elder Dickson, Rahim, Elder Ward, Aline, Sister Mower, Diana, Elder Halversen, Amanda with Loren, Klaus, and Elder Gibbs. Elder Mower is taking the picture. A few came a little late and are shown in the middle-right picture: Erika, Samuel, Karin, and Victor. Lisa also came and is shown in the lower-right picture with Aline. We're always happy to see Aline come when she can, but it is very difficult due to school and the fact that she lives in Telfs.
Rodrigo and Vanessa also came later at the end of the Institute class. They try to come, but both Rodrigo and Vanessa work at the school until about 7:00pm. After that they have to travel to the church on the bus and "Strassenbahn". We saved some food for them and they ate in the kitchen as we were cleaning up. We discussed the lesson material with them, as we usually do.
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| Thanksgiving Day Dinner at Institute - 27 Nov. 2014
Spotlight on Samuel and Erkia: My name is Erika, I was born in March of 1985 in Osasco/São
Paulo/ Brazil. For many years, my parents had already been members of The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
So, they taught me everything I needed to know, so I could be baptized.
At age eight, I was baptized and started to understand the responsibility that this
decision would bring into my life. I was blessed to be part of the Primary and
Young Women's programs.
Since my Grandparents are from Germany, my family has always
dreamed about living in Germany. We grew up with some typical traditions, especially
those surrounding Christmas, which inspired and pleased us every year.
There finally came a time that our biggest dream could begin
to be accomplished. My oldest sisters were married and had their own families,
so there were only the three younger kids: Karin, me, and Klaus. My parents
visited southern Germany and ended up falling in love with Tirol, in Austria, and
especially with Innsbruck. So, Innsbruck became our final destination.
After Klaus and Amanda got married in December 2011, and
with courage, they immigrated to Austria.
They are our family pioneers. It was indeed an incredible and difficult
experience for them. Klaus only spoke Portuguese and English and
almost no German and they needed to find an apartment and a job and settle
down.
During January 2013, I met a shy and really cute guy at a
dancing party at the church. He had a beautiful smile and was very sympathetic.
Soon enough, I realized he was the sweetest guy I had ever known, but I was
dating someone else and couldn't do much about it. Still, we became friends and
talked about many things. It was so nice
talking to him. I was happy when my previous relationship came to an end and
Samuel and I had the opportunity to strengthen our friendship. Up until then, I
thought he was only a good friend until another a friend of mine said, "Haven't
you noticed that he's in love with you?" After that, I started to see him
in a different way and I was pondering if we could work together. However, at
that time, I was done with dating and being disappointed.
I questioned him about his feelings and he told me how much
he appreciated my company and me as a friend, and even if he was in love with
me and I wasn't, he didn't want to lose me as a friend. I was astonished, I'm
thought that was so cool. And then I finally realized: "Why not?" So,
we up graded our friendship a little, but weren't official yet because I was
running all over the place helping prepare for Karin and Victor's wedding,
and after that, I had a month of vacation planned.
After Victor and Karin’s wedding, I left on vacation. During
this month, Samuel was present via Skype. When I returned home he was there
waiting for me at the gate. After talking, he asked me to “go steady” with him,
and gave me a ring. (We do this when we want to be official in Brazil, but it's
not quite engagement yet.)
A couple weeks later, my father left for Austria, leaving me
and grandma behind. I was overwhelmed with taking care of my father’s business,
maintaining our house, helping at my grandmother’s house, and taking care
of her when she had health problems.
Samuel became an even more wonderful friend and help to
me. He gave advice when it was
necessary, and was part of every moment.
He was helpful with all the situations, and supported and helped me with
everything I was required to do. It was
hard because we didn't have enough time to see our friends, or even go on
dates. We only had time to deal with our
responsibilities at work, at home, and helping grandma who got really sick.
A little more about Samuel.
Samuel was also born in a good, strong family with the same principles
that I had. He was also baptized at the age
of eight and participated in church activities.
At age 18, he served a full-time mission in Fortaleza/CE Brazil.
In the middle of all the chaos with house, work, and grandma,
we knew what we wanted for our future. We got engaged on a Sunday night. We
didn’t even have a special dinner to celebrate, he just asked. My grandma was
the only one around, and she tried hard to record everything. It was great!
After a few months, since my wedding was approaching, my
father returned to Brazil to help out with grandma, the business, and getting
us ready to move to Austria. When I first
met Samuel, he knew that my family was moving to Europe and that I was going
with them. Luckily, that didn't scare him away.
Even though he had limited English and no German, he was in for the
challenge. We prayed and fasted over the decision, and after analyzing the pros
and cons, we finally decided to move to Europe.
In 2013, during all the confusion and responsibilities, I
decided to restart my Personal Progress, because I wanted to have it finished
before I went to the temple to be married. The beginning of 2014 was really
busy, but I managed to finish all of my Personal Progress requirements just
weeks before our wedding. I went to the temple for the first time on April
22nd, 2014, and it was wonderful to have my family, friends who had become like
family, and, of course, my husband to be. It was a very unique
experience.
A couple days later, on April 25th, we were married! First,
in city hall and then we were sealed for time and eternity in the São Paulo
Temple. It was wonderful! I had no doubt I loved him, and he was the man I had always
looked and waited for. We planned
to hold our wedding reception in our backyard so we were nervous when it was
cloudy on that Saturday morning, but as soon as I got there, the sun appeared
and it was so perfect!
In the following days, my family returned to Austria, taking
grandma with them, and then Samuel and I were able to clean and organize everything
that was left behind. We packed, and 22
days after our wedding, we left for Austria to begin this new life. We arrived
in Innsbruck and were lost. I understood
very little German, and the accents made it harder. Samuel did not know any at
all. However, we were welcomed here and started German lessons with Elder and
Sister Mower. We are still working with
them even until today. They worry about
us and help us in everything we need. They
are so lovely.
Now (December 2014) we have been living in Austria for
almost seven months. We work, we have
our callings in the church, we are improving the language a lot, but there are
still so much to learn. We love living here and we are extremely grateful for
the privilege to meet such special people who help us and for having the chance
to give a better future to our kids (who will come someday).
=====
Spotlight on Lucy: "We’re going to lose this little girl, she has no
chance.”, were the words I (Lucy’s mother) heard from the doctor while he was analyzing the x-ray pictures on the wall in the intensive care unit, before he
realized, that the person standing behind him in a hospital long gown, was me
and not a nurse.
Lucy was born in the 32nd week of pregnancy, and she
weighed only 1.7kg. (abt. 3 1/2 pounds) She couldn’t breathe normally and had to be ventilated. She was revived two times just after her birth. The doctor’s comment was pretty scary for me, as her mother,
to hear. Nevertheless, I put all my trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. I nearly
starved with many weeks of fasting every other day for that little girl. During
that time of fasting, she was operated on, lost one part of her lung, had to
take high doses of opium and was x-rayed 58 times in one week.
Lucy received more than one Priesthood Blessing, and,
like a miracle out of no where, she rapidly recovered. In three weeks, after her lung operation, she
was home with us.
She happily grew up, and when she was two years old, we
found out that she had a hearing loss of nearly 50%. We went to hundreds of
treatments, therapy, logotype, phonoaudiogie…and so on. Even though she used
hearing devices, school became our greatest challenge. It was a hard time for
me to keep helping her, besides our three other kids, a house, and a part time
job.
Step by step, and with hours of training she learned to
speak simple sentences, and to read and write. She hated math, because it was
so hard for her to understand.
She was always a happy, lovely child. She wanted the
most to belong somewhere, and to understand what people were talking about. However, she lived in a silent world. She
always smiled at every one, but hardly understood what was going on around her.
At the end of primary school, school became a nightmare for her. She was pulled
away from many kids, and some teachers shouted at her, because she couldn’t
hear and follow simple instructions that the other kids normally did.
We changed schools, she went into a new school, a one-hour
drive from our home, which was more specialized for kids with hearing
difficulties.
To make it short. Lucy grew up always having the
feeling that no matter how hard I work, I will never be like the others. She
realized that she had limits at that primary school. But when she found new
friends that had the same problem as her,
and a school with better-qualified teachers, she started to love school.
At the age of 8, she shared a nice testimony with me. In
order to be close to her school, she entered a boarding school. She took her
Book of Mormon with her. Feeling alone and homesick the first weeks
there, she went with the other children to the playground to play, she said to
me, “ Mom, I climbed into a tree, and alone there I asked God to help me to
understand what I read in the Book of Mormon, after that I went back into
my room, and started reading. (Her
reading vocabulary and understanding, was like that of a 3-year old child). I
could understand every single word, but not really the words but what Got
wanted to say to me”.
This experience for Lucy was for me, her mother, an unforgettable answer to all my prayers.
Today (Fall 2014) Lucy is 24 years old. She finished high school, she is a beautician foot nurse, she can speak very good German and has two hearing implants. She is very dedicated at church and at work. When we spent last week together in the Frankfurt Temple, we had a wonderful time. And she has just had an interview with her bishop about going on a mission.
This little girl had, at birth, little chance of
survival. Now, with the blessings of the
gospel and family love and support, she can go on and do anything she wants.
She is a beauty, she is helpful to everyone, she loves the Lord and knows Him
very well. I`m so grateful to look back
and see how many great blessings the Lord has given us.
|
December 2014: Institute (4 Dec): We continue to have Institute each Thursday beginning promptly at 6:30 pm. We had a rather small group tonight, partially because so many are home sick. A flu bug with symptoms of vomiting, fever, etc. is going around. Anyway, we had a good time. (Julian and Vanessa came later.) Rodrigo and Vanessa both work until late. Vanessa finished work in time for the class (she ate in the kitchen afterwards). Rodrigo didn't finish work until late. This was Elder Ringger's first night in Innsbruck, replacing Elder Halversen who completed his mission and is on his way home. We're nearly at the end of the Book of Mormon and will have our last lesson for this school year on 18 December.
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| Institute with Elder Gibbs, Rahim, Elder Dickson, Elder Ringer, Elder Ward, Jeniffer, and Sister Mower (Elder Mower took the picture) |
December 2014: Roll Baking at FHE (8 Dec): Having Sister Mower share some of her secrets and talents making dinner rolls, oven S'mores, bread sticks, and cinnamon rolls has been planned for quite some time. Sister Mower, being somewhat of a perfectionist, has been dreaming of this event for weeks, wondering how she could have it well organized and not waste time waiting for the goodies to bake in the oven. Well, we were not disappointed!
We started the evening with a spiritual thought in the foyer, then gathered in the cultural hall. Everything needed for the baking session was set up in the cultural hall (with help from Elder Mower, the chef's assistant) and was ready when everyone (almost) showed up at 7:00pm. Diana wanted to come but has been sick and stayed home. Everything was really yummy! Thank you, Sister Mower! (Recipes will be handed out at the YA Christmas party.)
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| Roll baking with Sister Mower, Rodrigo, Elder Ringger, Elder Dickson, Elder Ward, Klaus, Jeniffer, Elder Gibbs, Amanda with Loren, Vanessa, and Virginia (Julian came later) [Elder Mower was there, too, and took the pictures. as well as supervising the baking in the oven.] |
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| Top left: Vanessa, Elder Ringger, Virginia, Amanda. Top Right: Sister Mower, Jeniffer. Bottom left: Julian. Bottom center: Elder Ward, Sister Mower, Jeniffer. Bottom Right: Rodrigo |
Spotlight on Julian: Hello, I am Julian and
I was born on the eighteenth of December 1990. I am the fifth of seven children.
When I was 5 years old, I visited a course of music education. When I was 6
years old, I sang for 2 years in the boys’ choir called “Wiltener Sängerknaben”. At the same time, I took private keyboard
lessons and went to
elementary school. At the age of 8, I was accepted as a piano student at
the school of music in Innsbruck. As a 9 year old boy, I performed at the “Tiroler Landestheater” in
Innsbruck in the musical ‘Gybsy’,
where I danced and sang as a Newsboy together with other children. I continued singing in
choirs and performing in musicals that made me more interested in Jazz. I went often
to musical libraries to listen to Jazz. At the age of 12, I started my own
piano Jazz-Trio „Just Now” and performed at a nationwide Jazz-contest. It was
held in Oberösterreich close to Vienna and as a group, we won second place.
When I was 14, I was
accepted at the “Tiroler Landeskonservatorium”
and into the Music high school of Innsbruck. I took part in a few nationwide
classical contests called “prima la
musica” and won the first prize playing avant-garde music with an accordion
player Peter Bombardelli, who also was my school college.
I took part in a few Jazz-workshops and got accepted
into the 6 semester Course for Jazz and Improvised Music at the “Tiroler Landeskonservatorium” where I learned more details of improvisation, Jazz theory, arrangement,
and composition. I started to participate in a lot more projects in different
bands and groups.
In the summer of 2010, I graduated from high school and from December 2010 until January 2013, I served as a full time missionary for the Church of Jesus
Christ of latter day Saints in the Czech and Slovak Republics. First I flew to
Utah to attend the MTC for two months. I remember well the different foods that I
wasn’t used to eating. The spirit was so strong, that I was literally overwhelmed
by it. Throughout my mission, I deepened my understanding and testimony of the
gospel of Jesus Christ. I was happy to meet special witnesses of Jesus Christ and hear
their uplifting words.
Because of my musical talents and skills, I played in a few concerts
that where held in Prague, Jičín, and Bratislava. After my mission I released a CD with all my
compositions and arrangements in remembrance of my mission. Everything that I
experienced the last two years is expressed in a musical way and is recorded on
that CD.
Since 2013 I have studied Music education at the University, “Mozarteum Salzburg” department Innsbruck. I also study history, social studies and political education at the University of Innsbruck.
Besides my studies at the University,
I am a freelance musician and participate in various projects like the Tyrolean playwright festival, musicals, classical chamber music concerts, and playing
the organ in local churches.
In my free time I
like to read, to cook, and to play sports such as squash or football. In the winter, I
like to be in the mountains where I like to go sledding, skiing, cross-country
skiing, and ice skating. In the summer I like hiking, swimming and mountain
biking. I also like to exercise in the gym.
I have a special testimony
of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that He is our Redeemer and Brother. I
know, that we have a loving Heavenly Father who wants us to be happy in our
lives. Sometimes it’s hard to be a strong believer and especially a different
believer. Life is not meant to be easy but with faith in Christ, I can enjoy life
better than without him. I am grateful for a family that taught me to pray and
to live my faith. I love to be part of this great and marvelous work that is
to bring to pass immortality and eternal life of man (Moses 1:39).
December 2014: Institute and Julian's Birthday (18 Dec): Our last Institute class for 2014 was 18 December. We finished our study of the Book of Mormon study tonight! We started the Book of Mormon study course in Fall 2013 and wanted to finish it before starting the Doctrine and Covenants beginning in January 2015 and the next semester. We celebrated Julian's birthday (18 December) on his birthday. Sister Mower, as usual, baked a special cake for Julian and Julian cut and served it after we took pictures. We try not to light candles inside the church, so we went outside and lit the candles. Just as we did that, Victor arrived on his bicycle and was able to get into the lower-right picture below. This was Elder Mower's last time to teach Institute in Innsbruck. He has enjoyed teaching Institute during the past 18 months and will miss this great experience!
We miss Virginia, as she has returned to Italy and will work in her father's restaurant, along with her sister. We don't think that she will be coming back, but she knows she will be welcomed and loved if she does. She told us that she will continue to learn German while she is back in Italy.
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| We celebrate Julian's birthday at Institute |
December 2014: Branch Christmas Party (20 Dec): Our annual branch Christmas party was a fun event, with a nice meal, entertainment, and good conversation with friends. The young adults (including missionaries) participated, as usual, with some songs, accompanied by Julian. Did you know that Aline is a very good singer? (She is.) Victor accompanied on the cajon on the song "Little Drummer Boy". (Rodrigo was planning on playing the cajon, but is in the "Klinik" instead. More on this later.)
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| Young Adults at the Branch Christmas Party - 2014 |
December 2014: A new district missionary picture: Our present group of missionaries has been together for a few weeks now, but we haven't taken a recent picture. So, two days before Christmas during our district meeting in Innsbruck, Elder Mower took a group picture. This picture was taken in front of the church.
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| Back Left-right: Elders Ward and Ringger (Innsbruck), Elders Gibbs and Dickson (Telfs), Elders Badders and Georgiev (Brixen) Front from left: Sister Siems and Jaursch (Brixen), Sister and Elder Mower (Innsbruck) |
December 2014: Family Home Evening Christmas Celebration (22 Dec): Elder and Sister Mower were in charge of the home evening tonight. Sister Mower did most of the preparations with Elder Mower as her assistant. Diana prepared a wonder spiritual thought on the meaning of Christmas. The topic was on the "Gifts of Christmas". We enjoyed a video entitled "What Shall We Give?".
We had great attendance for a fun event. Lisa's sister Lea joined us for the evening after shopping with Lisa in Innsbruck. Julian was off in the Czech Republic for a visit and couldn't attend. We were also happy to have Jakob with us tonight. Jakob turns eighteen the day after Christmas.
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| Family Home Evening Christmas Celebration - 22 December 2014 Along back: Elder Dickson, Elder Gibbs, Jakob, Vicky (hiding), Lea, Lisa, Karin, Diana, Victor, Amanda, Erika, Samuel, Jeniffer, Elder Ward, Rahim, Elder Ringger Along front: Sister and Elder Mower, Klaus with Loren |
Sister Mower had prepared, recipe booklets, small gifts and a card (with pictures of Sister and Elder Mower) for everyone present. Hopefully these cards will be remembrance to everyone of the love we (Elder and Sister Mower) have for all of you!!
Then, there was a gift exchange that went like this: Everyone brought a present to the party that was either a "White Elephant" gift, or a purchased gift that costs less than €5. These gifts were put in a pile in the center of the room (see picture below). Each person in the group received a random number (1, 2...). The person with the number "1" took a gift from the gift pile. Then, the person with "2" took a gift from the pile, or took the gift from "1". This continues until everyone has had a chance to take a gift from someone else or from the gift pile. One rule is that a specific gift can only be exchanged twice, after which the gift is frozen and has a permanent owner. We all had a fun time and came away with some fun (or different) gifts.
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| Gift exchange at our Christmas party |
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| More pictures at our Christmas party. |
My name is Victoria L. and I was born in Graz, Austria. The first
six years of my life I spent in Bad Radkersburg, a tiny town very close to the
border between Austria and Slovenia. In fact, from our house I could see the
border crossing.
When my father got a new job in St. Johann in Tirol, we moved to the
Alps, where I started and finished school. The nearest branch of the church was
situated more than 90 km away from my hometown, which was not very easy for me
and my siblings to get up every Sunday morning and go to church, but I think it
also built our faith.
We were a rather large family with my mum and my dad, my two sisters and
two brothers and our dog „Bogi“ and to be honest we were also a fairly loud and
wild family. My siblings and I we fought a lot, but we still had and have a
strong connection to each other.
A trial for us all was the deadly accident of my father when I was
sixteen and it took me quite a while to recover from this tragedy. When I was
eighteen I moved to Innsbruck to study at the university there and I kind of
figured out where my interests laid. Finally I did my BA and MA in cultural
anthropology and also discovered my love for travelling and getting to know
other cultures and people. So I had the opportunity to travel and work in
social projects all over Europe, North- and South America and some countries in
Africa.
While working in a museum, I decided to move to Vienna and study more. I
completed another MA in world religions, while having all kind of jobs at the
same time.
During my time in Vienna I felt the call to serve a mission, which I did
in the Germany-Berlin Mission from February 2010-September 2011. I learned a
lot in those eighteen months, although I had wished to serve in a more exotic
country (by the way East Germany has some very weird customs and traditions). I
can definitely say that I came closer to the Lord and I felt the guidance of
the Holy Spirit many times.
On my mission I made the decision to work in the social sector,
therefore, I got some training and at the present time, I have the opportunity
to work with older people but I' m still searching for the place where I will
find my „true“ calling. Soon I will move to Munich and marry my fiancé and
start our new adventure.
My testimony of Jesus Christ is simple but it has helped me throughout
my life, because I know God lives, Jesus Christ is our Savior, we are not alone
here on this earth. With faith, hope and love, we can endure everything. Vicki
